Leading Diverse Teams
According to Michael Bird, many project managers may feel that they are treading new territory as they lead project teams made of individuals from different cultures, heterogeneous mixes, and differing demographics. This signals a lack of understanding of the techniques required to manage diverse teams which can lead to project managers being less efficient and effective. This in turn can cause the team member motivation, satisfaction levels and productivity to drop due to the lack of knowledge and skills needed to lead diverse teams. Bird further states that the project manager will need to refine and improve management techniques and should complete a post project evaluation to measure the overall results of managing the diverse teams.
Based on Bird’s research, the following positive approaches can be adopted by the project managers leading such heterogeneous teams in order to seek positive effects of managing diversity in project teams effectively:
- Recognize that diversity will bring a greater skills base when managed properly
- Improve the overall climate on diverse project teams in order to improve satisfaction, reduce conflicts, and improve team member retention
- Encourage creativity, flexibility, and innovation among the team members which will allow the injection of new ideas and challenge the normal organizational mindsets
Bird further concludes in his article that managing diversity provides greater opportunities for project teams with better performance, and greater strategic awareness, which enables them to be more innovative and responsive.
Read more about this topic: Diversity Training
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